The Mortal Instruments: City of Secrets
by 99cats
Summary: Dinah Youngblood lives a regular life as an orphan, staying with one relative after another, until one day she travels to Brooklyn, New York, to live with her Uncle Davis. In Brooklyn, Dinah uncovers the secret world of the Shadowhunters, and learns just how much she ties into it. Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Uncle Davis**

Dinah Youngblood grabbed the last shirt from her small chest of drawers and stuffed it violently into her worn leather suitcase. It had been her favorite possession when she was little, a mysterious bag that had been hidden away in the attic, waiting for her to find it, but now she loathed it. She loathed it, because it meant that she was going away. Leaving her family and her friends behind, and travelling up north to Brooklyn. To live with some uncle she hardly knew.

Dinah scolded herself constantly for feeling upset about moving. She should have been used to it by now. After all, hadn't her whole life been made up of travelling from one sympathetic relative to the next?

Ever since her parents had died in a tragic car accident when she was little, Dinah had stayed with uncles and aunts and grandmothers that she hadn't known had existed. She had gotten used to not staying in one place for long. But recently, she had begun to make Boston her home. She found herself mixed in with a group of girls who she actually felt she could call her friends. Heck,she even had a _boyfriend_.

Dinah had lived in Boston for over a year. That was a new record for her. But just when she was starting to get used to her lifestyle there, she received a letter from a mysterious Uncle Davis who wanted her to come stay with him immediately in Brooklyn, New York. Which meant leaving behind everyone she had befriended in Boston.

Dinah had tried to protest, had told her Aunt June (her latest guardian) that she loved it in Boston. Why should she have to leave? Aunt June had only smiled weakly and told Dinah to go pack her stuff. No goodbyes, just pack to her things and get the hell out. Dinah didn't understand it. Why the sudden urgency? Why was it so necessary for her to go to Brooklyn? Frankly, Dinah didn't care in the slightest. She just knew it was thoroughly unfair.

But, despite her objections, Dinah found herself piling her puny collection of clothes into her familiar brown bag, taking in the inviting surroundings of her bedroom one last time before she left it for good.

Almost as soon as Dinah had gathered her possessions, Aunt June sent her out of the house with a train ticket. Dinah was surprised, if not slightly hurt. Aunt June wasn't even going to accompany her to her next relative. She was being sent away on a train, with no one to talk to, among complete and total strangers. Dinah felt betrayed. Did Aunt June even really love her?

The train ride to New York was boring. Dinah had read every single book that Aunt June had ever bought her (adding up to a grand total of three), and without a book to read, the train cars became very dull. Other passengers were hidden behind newspapers or laptop computers, paying little to no attention to the shy little 15-year-old who was seated nearby.

The hours dragged on slowly, and when the train finally pulled into the station, Dinah was one of the first ones off. She was desperate to meet Uncle Davis and get on with her new life.

It didn't take long for her uncle to appear. He was not at all what she expected, though. He wore a long black trench coat over torn blue jeans and working boots. His shaggy black hair hung over his eyes, making him look eerily like a stray dog.

"You must be Dinah," he greeted in a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Uncle Davis," Dinah answered, looking at him with one eyebrow raised, a trick she had learned from her friends in Boston.

Uncle Davis wasted little time with introductions. "Come along, then. Let's get you home."

Dinah followed her new uncle out of the station and over to a shiny black sports car, which didn't fit Davis's attire at all. Shrugging it off, Dinah slid into the passenger seat as Davis revved the engine and peeled away from the curb.

They drove in silence, Uncle Davis staring intently out the front windshield and Dinah peering out the window, taking in the buildings and landmarks as they sped along. It wasn't long before they screeched to a stop outside of a tall, slightly rundown apartment building.

Dinah followed her uncle inside and up the stairs to the fifth floor, where he hastily unlocked the door to room 507. Once the door was opened, Dinah stepped inside.

The apartment wasn't much, really, with only one bedroom that she could see and a main room that combined a kitchen/dining room with a living room. There was a small bathroom with a shower covered in grime, and that was about it.

Dinah entered the bedroom to find it had been decorated and prepared for her. She wanted to ask Davis where his room was, but he was off in the kitchen and she was preoccupied with exploring her new room.

There was a small desk in one corner where Dinah placed her small stack of books, and a closet on the far wall where she hung her clothes. Once she had made the room as homey as it was going to get, she flopped onto the bed (which was surprisingly comfy) and stared up at the cracked ceiling. She already had a feeling that she wouldn't like Brooklyn very much.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Institute**

When Dinah came out of her room, Uncle Davis was cooking something horrid-smelling on the stove. Not wanting to wait around to find out what it was, Dinah grabbed her coat and spare key and yelled to him that she was going for a walk.

Uncle Davis was at her side in an instant.

"Take this," he said in his soft voice, handing her a wrapped parcel. "It will give you some protection."

"Protection? From what?" Dinah turned to look at Uncle Davis, but he was already back in the kitchen, cooking as if nothing had happened. Dinah shrugged and swung open the door, feeling slightly miffed as she marched out into the hallway.

Once Dinah was outside she surveyed the city. There were streets winding this way and that, curling around the tall buildings and small patches of green that were sorry excuses for parks. Not knowing where anything was, she decided to start walking and see where the current sidewalk took her.

Dinah had been walking for hours, and she was hopelessly lost. All the streets looked the same to her, and when she turned down one that looked familiar, she just found herself more confused than before.

Dinah considered calling Uncle Davis, only to realize that she had no phone. She made a mental note to ask for one, if she ever saw him again.

The sky was growing dark and night was closing in, making Dinah feel small and afraid. She desperately wanted to go home, but she had no idea how to do so. So she kept walking, silently praying that she would get where she needed to go.

As Dinah walked, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was behind her. Her nerves were tingling, and every noise in the dark made her jump. She continuously glanced behind her, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Dinah's fears were confirmed, though, when she heard the crunch of boots on a fallen leaf. Instead of freezing up and letting her pursuer know that she was aware of them, Dinah kept walking. She was smart enough to do that.

Suddenly Dinah remembered the parcel that she had stuffed into her coat pocket. Uncle Davis had told her it would provide some protection. Curious as to what it was, Dinah unwrapped the flimsy cloth that surrounded it. When she saw what 'it' was, she stifled a gasp.

Lying in the folds of the cloth was a beautiful silver dagger. Carved into the hilt was a small tree, its branches twisting and turning, bare of leaves. Dinah's hand instinctively went to her throat, where a small necklace hung, bearing the same symbol. She had seen it in other places as well, like carved into the headboard of her bed when she was a child, back when her parents were still alive. She had never known what it meant.

When her follower's boots stepped on more dry leaves, Dinah knew she couldn't keep walking. Holding the dagger in the air, she spun to face the person behind her. She was startled to see a boy about her age.

The boy was dressed all in black leather, a hood covering his head. His eyes glowed green in the darkness, but other than that Dinah could see little of his face. What was visible of his skin was covered in dark tattoos, unlike any tattoos Dinah had ever seen. In his hand was a silvery blade, shining dully in the night.

Dinah instinctively assumed what she thought was a fighting stance: her legs shoulder-width apart and the dagger poised in her hand, ready to be thrown or stabbed if needed. The boy responded to Dinah's movement by drawing another identical blade. He whispered something softly, and both of the blades glowed more brightly. Then he attacked.

Dinah dodged his first blow and swung her dagger at him. He danced out of her reach and slashed at her with one of his blades. She ducked and rolled at his legs, trying to catch him off balance. They continued like this, trading blows but never actually injuring each other.

Finally the boy changed his tactic. His swings became less precise, more brutal, and Dinah was forced backwards. She tried to parry his blades with her small dagger, but it was hardly a fair fight. Soon she found herself pressed against the wall.

The boy brought his blade up and laid it across her throat. Dinah felt her heart pounding in her chest, so loud she was sure the boy could hear it.

"Wh-who are you?" she gasped.

The boy didn't answer, but his eyes narrowed. Dinah followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at her necklace.

"Youngblood," he murmured softly. His voice was soft, like Davis's, but it held a sharp undertone, and Dinah sensed that there was something inside him, a secret that he kept, that made him so harsh.

"Th-that's my last name," Dinah explained.

"Come with me," the boy whispered, drawing his blade away. Dinah turned to run, but he caught her arm in a firm grip. "Don't try and fight."

Dinah relaxed, knowing there was no way she was going to get away from him, and let him lead her off into the night.

The two walked in silence, Dinah staring worriedly into the boy's back. He paid her no attention, just walked with a swift purpose, towards a large and glamorous church.

"Why are we going to the church?" Dinah asked softly. The boy stiffened.

"You can see it?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Mundanes can't see through glamours," he answered, more to himself than to Dinah.

"Mundanes?"

Dinah waited for a response, but none came. She let out a small sigh and continued walking behind the boy as they reached the door to the building.

The boy quickly unlocked the large front doors and they swung open to reveal a luxuriously furnished front hall. It had a high, arching ceiling from which a great golden chandelier hung. The walls were decorated with paintings and tapestries. Each picture showed either what appeared to be an angel rising from a lake, holding in one hand a sword and in the other a cup, or people clad in outfits much like what the boy was wearing, brandishing weapons of all kinds, fighting grotesque creatures of all shapes and sizes.

"What is this place?" Dinah asked in awe.

The boy glanced around him, looking slightly proud. "Welcome to the Institute."


End file.
